


Truth in Lies

by DrummerDancer



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-12
Updated: 2014-01-12
Packaged: 2018-01-08 12:47:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1132824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrummerDancer/pseuds/DrummerDancer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was beautiful, yet ugly all the same.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Truth in Lies

**Author's Note:**

> Title: Truth in Lies  
> Author: drummerdancer  
> Verse: None  
> Characters/Pairings: Roy, Ed, Al  
> Word Count: 383  
> Prompt 252: All that Glitters (Is Not Gold)  
> Rating: K+  
> Summary: It was beautiful, yet ugly all the same.

The sun was beaming down on his back like a magnifying glass, causing heat to seep through his coarse military jacket and down his limbs in the form of salty sweat desperate to cool his body. It was disgusting, in all definitions of the word, but Mustang couldn’t move from his spot on the pavilion even if he wanted. His feet were rooted to the ground, his body unrecognizable in the sea of Amestrian blue that surrounded him. 

There was a crowd of no more than thirty gathered along the edges of what could’ve been considered an arbitrary arena, though really, they were simply watching a fight take place in the courtyard.

But it wasn’t an actual fight; such a thing would’ve been broken up immediately.

It was Ed and Al, sparring and leaping and bounding against each other, as each tried in earnest to pin the other. It appeared to be in sport, and it was providing some damn good entertainment, if nothing else.

Edward’s red coat and black under jacket were gone, his automail transmuted into a blade as he blocked an attack and jumped to the left, avoiding Al’s movement.

The armor that encased Al was gleaming and shiny in the overhead sun, blinding at some points as he turned and blocked much like his brother, albeit with less theatrics and more strategy and defense.

It was captivating, watching the two of them fight. Beautiful, but somehow ugly all the same. As Roy wiped the sweat off his forehead with a gloved hand, he thought again of Ed’s earlier admission that the Philosopher’s stone required human lives. A seemingly powerful and wonderful thing built on the lives and souls of others.

The blond braid that Edward always adorned was coming unraveled as he fought, sticking to his skin in places as it shone gold in the sunlight. But underneath that unconfined beauty lied secrets and sins most humans couldn’t stomach, let alone bear, day after day after day. 

Roy finally turned from his spot and retreated inside, his skin welcoming the cool air-conditioning HQ contained. All the while, he was remind that all that glittered wasn’t gold, nor was any truth without its lies. 

It was the act of finding and accepting such truths that defined them all.


End file.
